Tears
by Jarjarblinx1
Summary: "I will always be haunted by the devil with the beautiful face." Loosely based on the movie The Devil's Carnival. M rating just in case!
1. Beyond Salvation

I had never wanted it to be this way. I had my whole life ahead of me; she did too. God, why did it have to be this way? She didn't have to…but then again, neither did I. Maybe I should start from the beginning.

My name is John Fitzneil. I was like any normal 25 year old. I lived in a spacious apartment with my girlfriend Viv in Seattle. I was a pretty success architect for a local developer. Viv was a kindergarten teacher at the elementary school down the street. We were trying to have kids; I knew she wanted one of her own.

I don't think I noticed the change in Viv initially. The changes were small: she became less outspoken, her skin was a little paler and she started coming home later. At first, I was scared to think that she was cheating on me. I followed her after work one day to see if maybe I could find out anything, but all she did was walk to a park a few blocks away and then sit on a bench looking at the lake. For four hours, she didn't move from that spot. At precisely 7:30, she stood up, stuck her hands in her coat pockets, and walked home. That was it.

I was relieved that my fears had been assuaged, so I think I just considered the changes down as a sign of a bad cold. I should have talked to her… It was on October 15th, a Monday, cold and rainy like any other day in Seattle. I woke up and made breakfast as usual. What was different was that she made no effort to move when I brought it in to her. How foolish I was. Believing that she was just getting over her cold, I grabbed a pill from the bathroom and laid it next to her coffee cup on the tray and got ready for work.

I do remember I kissed her cheek before I left. I did that at least. I had an important presentation that day in front of the CEO of a company. I had procrastinated, so I had to go in early to finish it beforehand. With all the paperwork that had to be signed and signatures that had to be acquired to seal the deal, I had an extremely late day. My watch had just changed to 9:35 as I walked through the door. The whole apartment was dark and quiet, like an underwater cave. Flicking on the light switch, I called out Viv's name, half expecting to hear a reply. I shrugged when I didn't and just assumed that maybe she had taken a longer walk today than usual.

Loosening my tie, I walked up the stairs to the bathroom across from our bedroom. Even then it seemed strange to me that the door wouldn't open. I tried the knob a few times but then just resorted to shove my shoulder against it. It gave and I stumbled in to a heavy darkness. I searched for the switch on the wall; oh, if only I hadn't found it, but I did. I turned on the light to see Viv lying on the floor, her long black hair caked with blood. She was lying in the fetal position; I thought she was asleep. Reaching down, I saw the cold white skin of her arms covered in a sheet of red. I turned her over and for the first time in my life, I saw the face of a corpse. Reaching for her hand, my fingers brushed what had created the sea of blood. She had sliced her wrists 5 times on each arm with a box cutter. After that moment, all I can remember is a bloodcurdling scream coming from my own throat.

We had the funeral, cleaning up the body and dressing her in a long-sleeved dress to hide the cuts from her parents. Viv was well loved, so there were plenty of people there and they all had the same look on their faces. Towards the coffin, there was a look of extreme sadness, towards me, a look of disgusting pity. I didn't want their pity; I wanted Viv. I wanted her in my arms again, alive and happy. Damn it, I even had the engagement ring I was going to give her sitting heavily in my breast pocket. She would never wear it now.

Eventually, all the people were gone and I was once more in the silent apartment that had become a tomb to me. It was still cold and the silence and sheer emptiness of it felt like a blanket of stone on my shoulders. A month followed after the wedding. I still went to work, but it wasn't the same. My boss avoided having me meet with any potential clients. Come to think of it, everyone avoided me after the funeral. It's almost funny now that I think about it.

I made my decision on November 27th, Viv's birthday. I got dressed in my best suit, lit candles, baked a cake…She would have loved the party. It felt like she was with me as I sat at the kitchen table, staring at the ring box lying open the ring glittering in the candlelight. At the time Viv told me she had been born, I blew out the candles and went upstairs. I walked to our bedroom, dropping my tie along the way. Opening the door, I moved to the closet and walked in, closing the door behind me.

The coroners classified it as suicide by hanging. The belt had cut off circulation to the brain, leaving about 15 seconds before death. I must say, the undertakers did a fine job hiding the bruise on my neck.

**So I promised myself I was going to wait on this story, but I couldn't help myself. Hopefully this will turn out well...**

**Like always, reviews are much appreciated! Til next time!**


	2. Destination: Hell

Death was strange. It feels like being asleep, but having no ability to wake up, no matter how hard you try. For those that find themselves in a "good dream," death isn't so bad. For the rest of us, death can be quite a bitch. I was one of those unlucky bastards. However, the nightmare was more like a bad acid trip. It just didn't _feel _right.

When I woke up after my little _accident_ in the closet, I was surprised to find myself asleep in a luxurious room all in red. I had woken up in a pile of red blankets that were as soft as newborn lambs. I don't know what possessed me to get up, but I did. Even from the very beginning, something didn't feel right. Staggering about the room, I noticed that the room was perfect except that it felt like there was no air. I couldn't breathe; in desperation, I pushed at the walls frantically looking for a way out. I never saw the door, only felt one give as I stumbled out onto an empty pathway. I took a few deep breaths and looked up to see that I had been in a tent. It was strange considering it didn't look like one from inside. Pushing my heavy body up, I noticed that there were many tents similar in appearance to the one I had just come from. I was completely lost.

Looking up to see if I could find the night sky and the north star, I was dumbstruck to see that the sky was utterly black. There were no stars; there was nothing except a ball of blazing red flames that must have been the sun of wherever I was. _This is ridiculous_. "Hello?" I screamed. "Hello?!" My only response was silence. It was a familiar silence; it reminded me of what had welcomed me the day I found Viv.

Throwing my hands up in frustration, I decided to just walk around and see if I could find anyone. _What the hell, can't hurt_. I looked in all the tents I passed, but there was no one. _Where the hell am I?_ I kept looking up at the sky, hoping to see at least one star that could maybe give me some clue as to which direction I was facing. I wasn't paying attention when I bumped into something large and solid. Grunting from the impact, I looked up to see I had bumped into a booth with "Tickets" stenciled in dripping red paint on the front. To the left of it was a wooden wall that I could swear hadn't been there before. If I turned a little to my right, there were two large doors to whatever unknown things were beyond the wall. _How strange this place iss_.

I walked up and banged on the counter. "Hello? I'm lost and I have no idea where I am? Can someone tell me what this place is? Is anyone even there? Hello?!"

"Come now sir, there's no need to yell. I'm right here." I spun around and seeing no one, turned back to the counter. My eyes widened and my mouth widened in a soundless gasp. Before me was a figure, about 6', but hunched and clearly aged. They wore a faded red coat over a red waistcoat and black shirt with red and black striped pants. Now that I think on it, the color scheme was actually very ridiculous. On their head, there was a lopsided black top hat riddled with holes, scuff marks and tears. The figure was clearly male and appeared to be extremely poor. What shocked me most was the face of this being. It wasn't the face of an old man, no; it was Viv's face.

"Sir, I must ask that you do not stare. It's rude and it makes me angry. I'm quite unpleasant when I'm angry." The voice spoke calmly, with no trace of anger. It was like listening to Clark Gable with a cold, scratchy yet somehow smooth like caramel.

"I'm—I'm trying to find out where I am. Did you know there are no stars? There are no signs, nothing to indicate direction or time."

"Well, of course not! There is no such thing as time here and everyone eventually finds their way here. The Master has designed it to be that way. No matter which direction you turn, what path you take, you always end up here. Quite ingenious, really."

"The Master? Who is this Master? And where the hell am I?"

"My dear sir, you just answered your own question! And the Master is above us. It's about time for the Master and the Creature to pay us a visit." He pointed upwards and I followed the trail towards the sky. To this day, I wish I hadn't. Flying in the sky was what could only be a dragon, but it wasn't. There was something more sinister about it. It was a great beast with black scales the size of small cars. Its eyes were glowing yellow with hellfire; the wings were large enough that I felt certain could cover the land in shadow; when it roared, my heart froze in terror. The sound was like the screams of the abused and the suffering and the revealed fangs were sharp and powerful enough to destroy all of humanity.

The figure riding the beast was even more terrifying in its mystery. Clad in a long, flowing red cloak, this Master was hidden from sight. The only part I could see were two white hands, the fingers bent to look hooked. They were holding reins that connected to two horns on the beast's head. It changed direction, flying over the ticket booth toward whatever lay beyond the gates; I was stunned to see that it did so with little change in posture of whoever rode it. In complete silence, this person was able to control such a creature with ease. Whoever this Master was, I felt certain they were someone more terrifying than anything else I might see here.

"I welcome you to the Devil's Carnival, where all desires can come true if you're willing to take the risk. There have been many names for the Carnival, but you might know it as Hell. Here's your ticket of admittance."

**As always, reviews are much appreciated! Til next time!**


	3. The Snake

With a parting wave from the ticket taker, the gates closed, locking me in with whatever was in here with me. Looking down at the ticket in my hand, I noticed that it was designed in much of a similar fashion as everything else here: black with writing in red, dripping ink. This Master must be a _very _creative individual.

Turning the ticket over, I noticed that there was a list of available attractions, listed in a specific order. I held the ticket up close to see that at the very bottom of the list, written in extremely small letters, it specifically stated: "Attractions MUST be seen in the order that they appear on the ticket. Failure to do so will result in ultimate forfeit to the Master." I scoffed but what the hell, not like I had anything better to do.

First on the list was an attraction simply called "The Snake." Looking around, I still had no idea where I was going and I _had _to see this one first or else. Walking past all sorts of nameless booths, I finally found what appeared to be a bum sitting by one of them. He was a big man, with a tattered bowler, a worn brown coat and brown pants with holes in the knees. Through the cloth, I could see his skin was a sickly green color. His head was bowed, and the shadow his hat cast kept his face from view.

Walking up to him, I crouched down to see if maybe I could catch a glimpse of his face. "Excuse me, but I'm looking for the Snake. Can you tell me where I may find it?"

"Snakes in the trees, snakes in the mind, snakes in the sky, snakes in the eye. When there are snakes in the soul, where may we not find them?"

"That's very nice, but I mean the Snake as in the attraction here." Holding out the ticket to him, I pointed to the list. "Here look, it says that I need to visit 'The Snake' but I don't have any idea where it is. Can you tell me?"

"Ideas are like turtles; slow to come, slow to go. Turtle soup, turtle soup it will take you for a loop."

"Look, I don't have time for this! Do you know or not?" Pulling on his hat, I finally saw what he had kept hidden: his face, like the ticket taker, looked exactly like Viv. I started back and just kept backing away, my eyes never leaving the face that had been hidden from me. The man made no move to follow me so I ran. I couldn't take looking at that face anymore.

I have no idea which direction I ran. What I do know is that I didn't stop running until I felt like my lungs would burst. Looking up, I couldn't believe it. I was back to where I had seen the strange man, but now he was no longer here and there was now an open booth. ON the counter there was a sign; unlike normal carnivals, there wasn't anyone to collect money or draw attention to the booth.

Walking up, I looked around to see that there was nothing. There were the flashing lights and all the hype to make it appealing, but there was nothing. Rubbing the bridge of my nose with my pointer finger and thumb, I couldn't help but laugh at myself.

"What'ssss sssso funny? Lasssst time I looked, my faccccce wassss not that funny." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a shiny green thing slide over the counter to come up behind me. I didn't move; I had seen enough tonight already. I shivered when I felt scaly hands run up the back of my legs, past my ass to my shoulder blades. I closed my eyes in revulsion when the arms came around my shoulders to cling on to me. The fingers and arms were delicate, almost feminine and covered in shiny green scales that were surprisingly rough.

The right hand came up to rub around my throat, slowly tightening the fingers enough to put a bruising pressure. When I began to see stars, the fingers loosened and soothingly rubbed the spot. I felt the pressure on my back increase as the thing behind me pressed itself into me. I couldn't take it anymore; I pulled from its grasp when I felt a long tongue sliver across my cheek.

"That's it! No more! Just leave me alone!" I opened my eyes to see what I mostly expected. There was Viv's face, only green, covered in scales, the eyes serpentine and the nose were two slits in the middle of the face. The body was covered in scales, but the physique was clearly _human_. The chest and lower region were covered in a leather outfit that looked like it came from one of those old Tarzan movies. The arms were crossed over her…its chest and the face had what could maybe be considered a smile.

"What'sss the matter darling? Ssssurprissed? And I went through all thissss effort for you." The thing stepped forward, the hips swaying seductively.

"So, you must be The Snake. Impressive, but I—I've other things to see and I'm sure I'll see other things here more impressive than you. Now this has been fun but I'm going to go."

"Now now, there'ssss no rush. Sssstay with me. We can have fun together, you and I. I am lovely, aren't I? And you? Ssssexy, sssmart, ssso very delectable."

"I won't listen to this anymore!" I turned, pushing my hands over my ears.

"Turning, turning, alwayssss turning. That'sss why I killed myssself. Becaussse you jussst wouldn't LOOK…AT…ME!"

I felt the hands grab my forearms, claws I hadn't seen before digging in the flesh. It pulled me around, forcing me to look at angry slitted eyes. It was Viv, but when it was angry, I saw what The Snake really was: a demonic monster, a thing found in the shadows of an evil soul. I showed no emotion as it hissed and spat at me. After a few minutes of getting no reaction, I could see as the mask was put back on, covering its true face.

"Look dear, it can be sssso good for you. You're tired, alone and afraid. I am too. I hate being in the shadows like ssssome freak. Ssssstay with me. Show me what it'ssss like to be normal, to be happy and I'll give you back the love and ssssatissssfaction you've been missssing."

Grabbing the hand that had started to inch toward my crotch, I pushed her away. "You are a freak and a monster too. If this is hell, then I would rather stay here alone then spend one more moment with you." I started to walk away, when I heard a hiss behind me.

"She hated you, you know. I've ssseen her, you're little lady love. She told me how much she _hated _being with you. Turning, turning, alwayssss turning. Turning like a wheel, the sssame thing every day. No change, no excitement, only turning. She hated you, ssssso she chosssse death inssssstead. Sssssso turn little wheel, turn and turn and turn until the day ssssomenone reachessss out and sssstopssss that turning."

I kept walking, walking away from one Viv to what I highly expected to be another. I was walking away from The Snake to some other horror from my nightmares.

**As always, reviews are much appreciated! Til next time!**


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